1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to water craft and, more particularly, to devices especially adapted for braking water craft.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A type of water craft that is very popular is a personal water craft. One type of personal water craft is known as a jet ski. With a jet ski, a stream of water emerges from a nozzle at the rear of the jet ski, and the stream of water provides thrust for the jet ski. As with all water craft, slowing down and stopping a water craft may be difficult to do, especially if the water craft is moving through the water at a relatively high speed. In this respect, throughout the years, a number of innovations have been developed relating to slowing down and stopping water craft, and the following U.S. patents are representative of some of those innovations: U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,994,290, 3,209,716, 5,193,478, 5,377,610, 5,493,990, and 5,988,091.
It is noted that U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,994,290, 3,209,716, 5,193,478, 5,377,610, and 5,493,990 have been considered and discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,988,091, by the present inventor. In this regard, the aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 5,988,091 hereby is incorporated herein and made part of the present specification by this reference thereto.
It is also noted that the present invention provides substantially all of the advantages set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 5,988,091. Moreover, additional advantages are set forth herein with respect to the present invention.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,988,091, the importance of increasing drag during braking by forcing the stern of the water craft deeper into the water during braking is clearly set forth. Herein, however, some additional principles are set forth which further emphasize and support the importance of having the stern of a water craft to move deeper into the water during a braking operation.
A water craft has a center of gravity that is generally above the horizontal surface of a body of water. When the water craft is decelerated or braked, it is important that most of the drag during braking take place behind the center of gravity of the water craft. If, however, most of the drag during braking takes place in front of the center of gravity, the water craft can tilt in a forward direction and can even flip over in the forward direction. Clearly, such a catastrophe is to be avoided. In this respect, it would be desirable if a water craft brake apparatus were provided that provides lift to or at the front the water craft when the braking action takes place.
To assure that most of the drag during braking takes place behind the center of gravity of the water craft, the above-mentioned U.S. Pat. No. 5,988,091 provides a water craft braking apparatus that is located at the rear of the water craft.
Some water crafts have a rear hull cavity that receives a jet ski nozzle. In this respect, it would be desirable if a water craft braking apparatus were provided that includes components that fit into the rear hull cavity of a water craft.
Some of the embodiments of the braking apparatus set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 5,988,091 employ the rear discharge nozzle of a water ski apparatus in an interaction with the braking apparatus. Some water craft, however, do not have a rear discharge nozzle. In this respect, it would be desirable to provide a water craft brake apparatus that does not require the employment of a rear discharge nozzle.
In the embodiments of the braking apparatus set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 5,988,091, when the hand of the operator is no longer applying a braking force to the brake plate control assembly, the brake plate does not automatically return to a nonbraking position and the brake system lacks a locking mechanism. In this respect, it would be desirable if a water craft brake apparatus were provided which automatically returns a brake plate to a nonbraking position when the operator is no longer applying a braking force to the brake control assembly, and which maintains the brake assembly in a normally locked or nonbraking condition thereby preventing unintentional activation of the brake plate.
Thus, while U.S. Pat. No. 5,988,091 indicates it to be well known to use a braking apparatus at the rear end of a jet ski, U.S. Pat. No. 5,988,091 described above does not teach or suggest a personal water craft brake apparatus which has the following combination of desirable features: (1) includes components that fit into the rear hull cavity of a water craft; (2) does not require the employment of a rear discharge nozzle in the water craft; (3) automatically returns a brake plate to a nonbraking position when the operator is no longer applying a braking force to the brake control assembly; (4) causes the front of the water craft to be lifted above the water and the stern of the water craft to be downwardly directed into the water when the braking action takes place; and (5) provides locking of the brake plate in a normally nonbraking position when the control system therefor is not being operated. The foregoing desired characteristics are provided by the unique personal water craft brake apparatus of the present invention as will be made apparent from the following description thereof. Other advantages of the present invention over the prior art also will be rendered evident.